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Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a tailored text-messaging intervention on physical activity (PA), physical fitness (PF), and physical activity self-efficacy among five purposively-selected baccalaureate nursing students. No scale was located that was specifically designed to measure PA self-efficacy in the late adolescent and young adult (LAYA) college population. Therefore, the Physical Activity Appraisal Inventory--Adolescence and Young Adult Version (PAAI-AYA) was developed by modifying an existing scale to fit the LAYA college population. Though the PAAI-AYA needs further testing and confirmatory factor analysis, psychometric evaluation of the scale showed it was reliable and had good concurrent validity with an established scale and with self-reported PA levels. The PAAI-AYA was used to measure PA self-efficacy changes in this single-casestudywith concurrent multiple baselines across subjects and with four predetermined baseline periods. A prescreening survey was used to select one male and four female students who demonstrated either high PA level and high PA self-efficacy or low PA level and low PA self-efficacy, and those students were randomized to four baselines. All dependent variables were measured multiple times throughout the study. Four participants’ self-reported PA increased compared with baseline. Three participants had statistically significant cardiorespiratory fitness improvements, and two participants had significant waist-hip ratio decreases. Four participants’ PA self-efficacy increased compared with baseline. The results provided evidence that text-messaging may be effectively used with nursing students to increase physical activity, physical fitness, and physical activity self-efficacy.